James Hetfield has soldiered on through a concert in Copenhagen, Denmark on Friday night, despite feeling like creeping death.

The Metallica frontman was having issues with his throat and apparently reckoned he sounded like shite, because at one point he paused proceedings to ask the crowd of 16-thousand punters if they’d like the band to stop playing and come back when they sounded — well — less shite.

Addressing the audience at Royal Arena, the “Yeah!” king said: “It’s not fair to you guys, man. You paid a lot of money to come see your favourite band and we don’t sound good. I want to leave it up to you, man. Would you rather hear us sound better another time?”

After a roar from the crowd, the frontman responded: “I love you too, I appreciate that. I want to stop, what do you say?”

Following loud cheers of “No!” Hetfield admitted defeat: “Okay, you asked for it,” he conceded. “I’ll keep doing my best, all right? I appreciate you guys so much man, thank you for supporting.”

The thrashlords managed to plough on and churn out an abbreviated 16-song set for their Copenhagen fans, however they’ve since postponed their second show in the city, with Hetfield reportedly now under “strict doctor’s orders to not sing one single note”.

A statement from the band reads (via Facebook):

“We’re very disappointed to have to share with you that, unfortunately, as Saturday has progressed, James’s health, and specifically his throat, is not improving and he is under strict doctor’s orders to not sing one single note. So sadly we have to report that we will be postponing tomorrow’s show at the Royal Arena until September 2, 2017.

…To those of you who were there yesterday, we appreciate you encouraging us to carry on . . . That meant the world to us! We all felt really bummed that we were unable to give you the maximum Metallica experience; it was one of the most challenging shows we’ve ever played, but your love and support got us through.

We know that many of you made travel plans to spend the weekend with us and we are very sorry for any inconvenience this will cause. We hope that you will be able to come back to Copenhagen in September and we’ll do our best to make it up to everyone with something unique for you at the make-up gig, along with a kick-ass show, of course!

…Thank you again for all the support and care you’ve always shown us in Denmark. We will be back!”

Catch the footage of sick James Hetfield bantering with the crowd at Friday night’s show below — alongside the band’s rendition of ‘Battery’from the set.